Goodbye 2023; Hello 2024!

Happy New Year! We spent last night by the fire pit and it was wonderful. Of course, I was asleep well before midnight and was happy to wake up to a fresh new year this morning. French toast, a fresh loaf of sourdough bread, and a batch of sourdough biscuits warmed up the kitchen and it was a great way to start 2024. And if that means that I’m going to spend the whole year baking, then I’ll be a-okay with that!

Today is a very fast wrap up post for the year. I’m just sharing some of my reading reflections and my stitching from 2023.

Reading in 2023:

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I had a fantastic reading year in 2023. I stopped counting books a couple of years ago but I log everything into GoodReads and they, of course, have done the math for me. Even better? A large chunk of these were chapter book read alouds with the kids, which feels really good.

Favorite books of the year (in the order they were read):

• Chouette by Claire Oshetsky
• Signal Fires by Dani Shapiro
• Master Butchers Singing Club by Louise Erdrich
• The Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
• Wandering Souls by Cecile Pin
• Homecoming by Kate Morton
• Yellowface by RF Kuang
• The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Ang
• Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
• The River We Remember by William Ken Kreuger

I don’t have any goals or very many plans for 2024. I’m actually hoping to read LESS because I want to make sure I spend a lot of time in the garden this year. We’ll see what the year brings!

Stitching in 2023:

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(The last picture shows an unfinished Tessellated Vest, but it IS finished! I just haven’t taken pictures of it.)

I am pleased to have finished any stitching in 2023 and am even more pleased to have such a variety to share. I was quilting and cross stitching early in the year and then turned my attention back to my real love, knitting.

I hope to do more stitching in the new year. In fact, I estimate that I’ll have my first finished sweater of 2024 in just a couple of weeks. I am planning to share my progress soon!

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Sorry this was so short and choppy, but I’m writing under duress. I have so much more to say about the new year so I will try to make a few more updates as the week goes on and share my thoughts in tiny bites. I hope today (and the year) is full of exactly what makes you the happiest. Take good care.